News and Articles

Julia Pigott & Martin Hoggard will run the  Introducing Beekeeping  on behalf of PBKA.  It will be of interest to anyone who would like to become a beekeeper as well as those who have started beekeeping, but consider themselves to be beginners.

Julia and Martin are both highly experienced beekeepers and trainers.  They  run the Brigsteer Bee Reserve, just outside Kendal. More information about Julia, the Bee Reserve and her training programmes, along with course feedback, can be found at www.BeeEd.org.uk

Introducing Beekeeping is a two day course.        It will run on the following weekend:

• Saturday 1^st  June   and Sunday 2nd June

Day one will commence at 9.00. (registration) and finish at 5.45.p.m.   (Includes colony inspection) Day two will commence at 9.00. and finish by 5.00.p.m.

The course will combine theory with practise and will involve an introduction to all the basic skills  needed to become a competent, confident beekeeper

Fee:  £110   This includes: tuition; loan of kit; information to take home; light refreshments, EXCLUDING lunch.  Participants may bring their own packed lunch or a lunch can be pre-ordered from the Boot and Shoe Inn which is opposite the Village Hall.   The lunch menu and prices will be available during course registration so that pre-orders and payments  can be made on arrival.

Concessions:  £100  PBKA Members                £70 *students in full time education.

*Minimum age 12 years.  Students U.18 must be accompanied by an adult who is parent/guardian or officially acting in  ‘loco parentis’ and is also attending the course.

Places are limited. To reserve a place please contact PBKA  asap: see below.

Closing date for applications:  Monday 20^th  May. Cancellation: unless PBKA cancels the course, refunds for cancelled places cannot be made after 20^th  May 2024.  

 Introducing Beekeeping PBKA Application form

Contact Margaret Riches  (PBKA Contact Margaret Riches (PBKA Treasurer)

TEL: 01768 384404 or E mail:   

Or visit PBKA website: penrithbeekeepers.org

Penrith District Beekeepers Association and Eden Rivers Trust have welcomed donations from a national housebuilder.

The two charities, both based in Penrith, successfully applied for funding through an initiative run by housebuilder Persimmon.

Persimmon Managing Director Anthony Mansfield this week joined Westmorland and Furness Councillor Lorna Baker to present cheques for £1,000 and £4,000 respectively.

Persimmon’s Community Champions initiative is open to all local charities, clubs and community groups seeking new funding with winners awarded between £1,000 and £6,000 every quarter.

Margaret Riches, Chair of Penrith & District Beekeepers Association, added: “We’re delighted to receive the support from Persimmon Homes which will be so useful for developing the work with our bees in the future.

“Funds will go toward the construction of a path in an orchard where the Long Hive that we purchased last year is sited. We are also concerned about the impact that the Asian Hornet will have on the survival of our colonies, and protective equipment will need to be bought.”

Elizabeth Radford, CEO Eden Rivers Trust said: “Thanks to this donation, we’ll be able to provide more opportunities for local residents to get involved with our accessible community tree nursery in Penrith this year.

“It will help us realise our vision of creating a fully accessible ‘doorway to the world of conservation’ in the town centre where everyone is welcome. People can visit the nursery to enjoy some fresh air and company, while learning how to grow native trees, all on their doorstep!”

Lorna Baker, Councillor for Eden and Lyvennet Vale, said: “Westmorland & Furness Council is pleased to see Persimmon Homes supporting local community organisations and commends the beekeepers who are contributing magnificently to maintaining pollinators across our very rural area.”

Anthony Mansfield, Managing Director at Persimmon Homes Lancashire commented: “Sustainability is a key pillar of our business, and I am delighted to support both Penrith Beekeepers and Eden Rivers Trust with donations from our Community Champions scheme.

“It is brilliant to see local charities supporting and enhancing Cumbria’s stunning natural environment. I wish both every success for the future and look forward to seeing the positive impact their work has in the local area.”

Charity number : 1170487

Winter Programme 2023-24                                                                        Issued  31st October 2023

Background to Guest Speakers/ Workshop Presenters

 This workshop will provide guidance and practical activities to help to keep you and others safe when beekeeping and offer a forum to plan management of apiary meetings safely.

Julia is a Seasonal Bee Inspector, a First Aider and retired GP.  Her combined experience of beekeeping, many visits to different apiaries and her medical knowledge will ensure that this course provides health and safety advice which is particularly relevant for beekeepers.

The session will take place in the school hall where participants will be able to use the PE mats to provide comfort for the exercises that involve lying down.

Due to the size of the hall and the number of mats available, places  will be limited. To avoid disappointment please reserve your place asap but by 17^th February at the latest.

This course is available to all members of Cumbria Beekeepers Association.

Cost £10. 

To reserve a place contact: Margaret Riches  01768 894404 

Margaret will confirm that a place has been reserved for you. The payment to Penrith Beekeepers Association will then be due.  You will be provided with the BACs details or where to send your cheque.   Further details about the session will also be supplied.

Cancellation: Unless PBKA cancels this course, refunds for cancelled places cannot be made after 17^th February

 Additional information:

Whitehaven Beekeepers Association are holding two workshops which you are invited to attend:

Saturday 2^nd December 2023 : ‘Xmas Gifts from the Hive’

Saturday 17^th February 2024 : ‘ Pollen Microscopy Day’

See Events Calendar for further details about these opportunities and how to reserve place/s.

Order form for PBKA 2024 Calendars

please see Events Calendar for further details

During June 2023, Penrith Beekeepers led a ‘Bringing a Buzz to the Curriculum’ project at St. Catherine’s Primary School, Penrith.

For one week, all the children in the school from the youngest children in the reception class to the oldest children in Year 6 participated in sessions which introduced them to the world of the honey bee. It aimed to raise their awareness of:

• the value of bees to our environment
• the vital role that they play in pollination which helps plants to produce food that we need to eat,
• the ways that the survival of bees and other pollinators are being threatened and what can be done to help them.

At the end of the project each class presented aspects of their work in an assembly to which parents and friends were invited . It was inspiring to see the creative ways in which the children had interpreted the information that they had learnt through the project and their own research.

Teachers and pupils provided feedback on the project by completing a brief questionnaire.  Examples of their responses are as follows

Which activities do you consider have been particularly beneficial for the children’s learning?

Key Stage 1:

• The practical resources helped the children to visualise what they were being taught.
• The children enjoyed the new experiences- seeing the hive and tasting different kinds of honey.
• The children creating + designing their own flower- following the in put this allowed the children to problem solve and create a flower accessible for a bee.
• The honey tasting allowed the children to develop individual opinions and understand why honey tastes different.

Key Stage 2:

• Anatomy of the bees – dressing up.
• Roles of different bees in the hive
• Looking at an actual hive with bees in
• Flower testing
• Honey testing
• Class 4 said that they were better informed and they understood the problems facing them.
• Being able to see the bees in the hive was absolutely amazing, as the children were able to visualise how the bees interact.
• The anatomy of the bee was a good activity too (when the children were able to dress up at the front) as this was easy for the others to understand how the nectar is transferred.
• Tasting and rating the honey was super, as a lot of children hadn’t actually tasted honey.
• Rating the flowers for pollination was also an interesting activity.

Additional comments:

Key Stage 2:

• The children were literally ‘buzzing’ with excitement about the week and what they had learnt. This was shown in the end of the topic assembly, where the children shared their learning and the beautiful work they had completed. Maths, Science, literacy and art were covered and everything was connected to the National Curriculum and thoroughly thought out. A brilliant week was had by all!
• The children absolutely loved the activities and absorbed lots of facts.
• Fantastic- thank you so much for the time and effort. The children have been talking about it since and have taken on board the importance of bees!
• It was a pleasure to do work with the children that did not rely on digital devices or the internet.

Excursion to Manchester Beekeepers Association on July 22nd.

An opportunity for beekeepers to visit a highly renowned apiary to learn more about approaches to beekeeping. Transport will be provided by Fellrunner bus. Departure from the car park behind Greystoke Village Hall at 9.30. a.m. . Estimated time of return 6.00.p.m.

Cost: £30 per person provided at least 12 people participate.  This opportunity is being co-ordinated by Penrith Beekeepers Association.  Contact Margaret Riches: for further information. Places are limited so early application is recommended.  Closing date for reservations: 8th July.

Thanks

Margaret

Stop Press!  Stop this Pest! 

Join the Asian Hornet Watch

The Asian Hornet, vespa velutina, is an aggressive predator of honey bees and other beneficial insects. Since a fertilised Asian Hornet queen arrived in France in 2004, inside a box of imported Chinese clay pots in which it had hibernated, it has spread to Spain, Majorca, Portugal, Italy, Belgium and Germany and the Channel Islands.  Over 50% of the hives in these countries have been destroyed, along with other insects on which small birds depend for their survival. Each Asian Hornet nest can produce 200 queens in one season. Once established, it can spread at the distance of 100km each year.

Its sting can also be fatal to humans !

The Asian Hornet is the Putin of the insect world: small, but dangerous with invasive intent! 

In Asia, bees and the other insect populations have co-existed with the Asian Hornet for thousands of years. They have developed strategies for evading and destroying it, but the European bees and insects do not have the benefits of this knowledge and experience, which is why they are so vulnerable to its attacks.

Since 2016  Asian Hornets have been seen from time to time in the UK. mainly in the south of England, but they are now appearing more often further north. On each occasion they have been successfully tracked and their nests destroyed.  Two weeks ago, one was found in Northumberland in a container of vegetables.   This reminds us that it could arrive in Cumbria very soon.

Cumbria is a perfect habitat for the Asian Hornet. It has  trees to provide the wood that it needs to create the pulp to build its nests and in which the nests can remain hidden from view in the canopy of tall trees; sources of water to enable it to mulch the wood into the pulp; plentiful supplies of bees and other insects for its food. It also thrives in damp, cooler conditions.  The Asian Hornet may arrive as a tourist, but when it does, it will be here to stay!!

Early detection, so that the Asian Hornet can be tracked and its nests destroyed, is essential. During your walks in the countryside or when you are working in your garden, remain alert to the possibility of seeing an Asian Hornet. If you think you have seen one, do not touch it. Instead follow the 3 simple steps to begin the track and trace process:

i) SEE it

ii) SNAP it on your camera/ phone

iii) SEND the image to attached to an email if you don’t have a smart phone or via the new Asian Hornet Watch app.

Download this free from Google Play or the App Store.  The app gives detailed ID guidance and will help you to quickly record and send potential sightings.

Computer systems sift through the images that are received.  Pictures of other types of  hornets/ wasps are rejected.  When a picture of the Asian Hornet is recognised then swat teams of beekeepers are sent into the area to find and track them back to their nest.  Nests are then destroyed and removed overnight using specialist equipment.

Your vigilance will stop this pest! The battle to control it has been lost on the continent. It has just begun here.  It likes hitching a lift in caravans, cars and luggage when our holiday makers return from the continent. Please check your luggage carefully before you leave for the UK to make sure it is not hiding away to makes its escape when you arrive home!

Other types of hornets which are native species to the UK are not the target.  Electronic copies of an Asian Hornet identification chart to help you identify the ‘enemy’ and differentiate it from other hornets, can be downloaded for you to use and circulate to your friends.

At Greystoke Village Hall, near Penrith CA11 0TW

A PBKA Course

Provisionally the Next course will be 7 -8th June 2025

Course Details: Introducing Beekeeping PBKA June 2023

Ian Robinson wins W Barton cup for best exhibit in the Mead classes

at the Cumbria Honey Show November 2022.